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| September 26, 2006 | Tuesday | Ramazan 2, 1427 |
Possible life ban for racist spectators
DUBAI, Sept 25: Cricket's world governing body is set to make drastic changes in its anti-racism code, punishing spectators up to life bans.
If amendments are adopted, anti-racism code of International Cricket Council (ICC) will allow the countries to impose a range of punishments on spectators found guilty of racial abuse, ranging from being thrown out from the venue to a life ban.
ICC chief executive committee (CEC) was set to decide late Monday whether such punishments were feasible.
India's Solicitor General Goolam Vahanvati reviewed existing code, which was adopted in 2003, following allegations of racist abuse made against South Africa players during their Australia tour this year.
The report recommended amendments to the code, which was reviewed by CEC and ICC's executive board in London in July.
A working group comprising chief executive officers of ICC, Australian and South African cricket boards made further recommendations to the code.
If countries themselves fail to uphold code and racist behaviours then they could also face penalties ranging from fines to withdrawal of international status of concerned venue where the incident took place.
In addition to new code, ICC could also make an announcement on a series of anti-racism policy initiatives, including ICC commissioning an eminent qualified lawyer to draft legislation dealing with racist behaviour during matches.
Announcement may also be made on the adoption of a text message or telephone hotline at venues allowing spectators to report offensive behaviour in confidence.—Agencies
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